III. Thus have we in our Commentary on these first three chapters of the book of Genesis gone through the history of the whole creation. In what manner the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, were created; in what manner paradise was created of God, that it might be the palace of man, the lord of the whole world, who had dominion over all things therein; in what manner God instituted a temple for man in paradise, which was appointed for acts of divine worship; namely, the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," by his conduct concerning which Adam might testify his obedience to his God. We have also heard in these three chapters the history of those things which were done by man in paradise; how woefully he fell and sinned against God and lost all this glory of his innocence and natural immortality. All these subjects I have treated with plainness and simplicity, according to the measure of my gift; giving them their plain historical sense, which is the true and genuine meaning. For the principal thing we have to do in interpreting the holy Scriptures is to gather from them, to some degree of certainty, their plain and simple sense; especially, surrounded as we are with such a variety of interpreters, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. For nearly all these not only pay no regard to the plain historical sense of the Scripture, but even confound it by foolish allegories and bury it under the confusion they themselves cause. The absurd system of Origen and Jerome, which these commentators have followed in these chapters of the book of Genesis, is well known. They have throughout departed from the plain history, which they call "the mere letter that killeth," and "the flesh;" and have magnificently displayed the spiritual sense, as they term it, of which they know nothing. And Jerome has followed Origen as his great teacher. Precisely the same thing also has taken place in our time. For as men gifted and eloquent, have bent their powers to persuade their hearers and readers that histories are mere dead facts, which profit nothing to the edification of the churches, it has thereby come to pass that we have all run headlong in our common study into allegories. And I myself also, when a youth, found wonderful success in this my attempt at allegorizing. For I found a license here to invent the greatest absurdities; seeing as I did that such great doctors of the churches as Jerome and Origen sometimes gave open field to their ingenuities. Indeed, to such an extent was this indulgence in allegories carried, that he who was the greatest adept at inventing them was accounted the greatest theologian. Augustine also, carried away by this false opinion, often disregards the historical sense of the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, and has recourse to allegory. In fact, all were filled with the false persuasion that the allegorical meaning was the spiritual and true sense; especially with reference to the